Katya Koloda

Happy birthday to Kazakhstan’s 400m hurdler Katya Koloda, who came home from the first Asian U23 Championships with a bronze medal.

Last month in Ordos, at the inaugural Asian U23 Athletics Championships, Ekaterina ran a leg of the Kazakh 4x400m that took bronze in 3:37.65 alongside Anna Shumilo, Anastasiya Tsvirkunova and Mariya Shuvalova. Being on the podium at the first edition of a continental championship is a small permanent thing: the result exists now and always will.

Her season had already produced a lifetime best. In May at Shimkent she ran 59.60 over the 400m hurdles, taking down the mark she had set the previous summer at the Kazakh national championships, where she won the silver medal in 59.79 and went under a minute for the first time. The federation noted at the time that the run qualified her for the title of Master of Sport, and it called her exactly what she was: the eighteen-year-old representative of Astana. She has a 2:10.02 over 800m indoors from Ust-Kamenogorsk, and a 4x400m silver from the Asian U20 Championships in Dubai.

At the Kosanov Memorial in Shimkent in June she took third in the 400m hurdles final in 1:00.30. Second, in 59.66, was her twin sister Anastassiya Koloda (@nastya_koloda).

С днём рождения, Екатерина! Желаю здоровья и счастья на долгие годы, и ещё много быстрых барьеров впереди. Құтты болсын! 🎂🎁🎉🫶🫶🇰🇿